For Love of Darkness
by shadowalchemist198
Summary: A single rainy night changes Duo into a vampire. He must learn to adapt to his new condition and find where he stands in the war between light and dark. Guest characters from various series! 5x2
1. Prologue

Disclaimer: I don't own GW, and I never will no matter how much I wish I did.

WARNINGS: Rape! Vampires! Wufei kissing Duo! OMFG!

Prologue

Change

April 19th, AC 198

Duo ignored the rain as he walked down the street. He knew it was late and that Wufei would already be home. The braided teen sighed. He pulled the collar on his coat closer to his face. It was freezing tonight.

Something moved suddenly out of the corner of Duo's eye. He stopped and turned towards the movement. He noticed a slender, pale-faced young man standing in the shadows of a long dark alley. Duo walked over to the man. "Hey, you lost?" he asked.

The stranger shook his head. "No," he said calmly. "I was just enjoying the rain."

Duo nearly laughed. "Enjoying the rain? You must really like it then. I don't care for it. It rains too much here."

"I take it you've lived here for a while then?" Duo nodded. "Perhaps you can tell me where I could get a bite to eat."

Duo grinned. "Sure. There's a good place just through this alley." He pointed between the buildings. "I can show you there."

The stranger smiled softly. "Thank you."  
Duo led the man through the dark alley. About half-way through, the stranger stopped. Duo paused and looked back at him. "What's wrong?"

"I'm just wondering about what a beautiful young man you are," the stranger said seductively. Duo blushed. "I wonder what you taste like." The man licked his lips. He took a step forward; Duo retreated slightly. Eventually, Duo felt the cold, wet brick on his back. The stranger placed his hands on the wall on each side of Duo's body. "Come now, there's no reason to be afraid. I don't bite," The pale man said. He reached down and put his hands on Duo's waist. Duo yelped in surprise at the cold touch.

Duo pushed the man's hands away. "Please, I'm taken," he said calmly. He glared at the man. "Now let me go."

The man grabbed Duo's wrists. Duo felt the terror begin to rise in his chest. "No one can hear you scream, and no one can see us. I have you all to myself. No one can help you. No one at all." The man grinned, revealing pure white fangs. He leaned down closer to Duo's face. The braided teen felt sharp nails cut his shirt open. He reacted instantly to the tugging on his belt and pants button and tried pushing the invading hands away. "How amusing." The man grabbed both of Duo's thin wrists in one hand and lifted them above his head. Duo glared at the man again.

"Let me go," he growled.

The man smirked. "No."

He threw Duo to the ground and stood over him. He used his sharp claws to slice through the belt and Duo's pants. Duo shivered in the rain. He struggled to get away. "No… Stop… Don't do this!"

----------

Wufei paused in front of a long dark alley. His sharpened senses tingled with the gentle touch of magic. It was fresh, the spell having finished only minutes before. He turned and walked into the alley.

He was surprised to see three Council members knelling down around something. "This is the third attack," a man said.

"He's just a kid." A woman leaned over to inspect the victim.

"Will he change?" the third Council member asked. He looked down at the woman.

"Probably," the woman said. She sat back.

"Chang will need to be notified," the first man said.

"There is no need," the third member said calmly. "He's already here."

The three Council members turned towards Wufei. "Chang," the woman said. "Come here."

The Chinese man walked over to the small group. He refused to look down at the victim. "What do you need?" he asked.

"Take him to your house. We know you're already acquainted with him."

Finally, Wufei looked at the victim. He paled when he saw Duo wrapped in a blanket. The brunette shook from fear and cold. His long chestnut brown hair was loose, hanging over his body. Wufei knelt down next to him; Duo flinched away slightly. Wufei felt something break in his chest and frowned. "What the hell happened to him?" he demanded. Duo winced at the tone.

"Vampire attack," the woman said bluntly. "Take him home. I'll send a Healer over shortly."

Wufei was, by no means, happy with the woman's order, but he complied anyway. He leaned closer to the shivering teen. "Duo, I'm going to take you home. Alright?" He barely saw Duo nod. The Chinese man lifted Duo into his arms, bridal style, and after muttering a quick spell, both pilots disappeared.

----------

Wufei watched the elderly Healer inspect Duo's injuries. The Vampire had left long claw marks on his arms, legs, and back. Already the Healer had treated those effectively and efficiently. Wufei frowned; he would get revenge on the Vampire for what he did to Duo.

The Healer finished bandaging the two puncture marks on Duo's shoulder where the Vampire had bit him. She sat up, her face unexpressive. "I need you to lay down so I can heal the injuries caused by the rape."

Duo shivered unconsciously. Wufei helped him lie back. The Healer gently spread his legs. The Vampire had literally torn the braided teen's clothes off of his slender form, so the simple action exposed Duo completely.

Wufei saw the damage done to Duo's lower body and felt his blood run cold. 'Those scars… They'll never heal….' He thought.

"Fei?" Duo whispered so softly Wufei nearly missed the word.

The Chinese man sat down next to his friend. "What is it, Duo?"

Duo's violet eyes watched Wufei carefully. "Why?"

"Why what?"

"Why me? Did I do something wrong? Was it my hair or…"

Wufei moved quickly. He leaned over and kissed the top of Duo's head. The L2 colonist froze. When Wufei pulled away, he saw Duo staring at him in confusion. "It's not your fault. That bastard was going to do that to anyone who offered to help him. You were just in the wrong place at the wrong time." Duo remained silent.

The Healer reached over to her kit. She pulled out a small bottle. She poured some of the liquid on a cloth. "I'm about to start repairing the damage," she warned. "It will hurt."

Duo gasped in pain as she pressed the rag against the raw injuries. He grabbed Wufei's hand and closed his eyes. Wufei could feel Duo's racing pulse under his skin. "We'll get through this together, Duo," Wufei whispered. Duo's amethyst eyes opened slightly.

"…Alright."

----------

Wufei carried Duo up the stairs towards his room. The Chinese man was fully aware of the fact that Duo was skittish at best right now, but the trust that the braided teen was putting in him was a good sign. The traumatized young man rested his head against Wufei's chest. The long chestnut brown hair was tied back and thrown over the blanketed shoulder. Wufei knew that Duo looked like a broken doll someone had just thrown away, and to some extent, he was.

"Where do we go from here?" Duo muttered into Wufei's shirt. "I'm a monster now."

Wufei sighed. Duo was **not** reacting well to the news that he was slowly changing into a Vampire. "You're not a monster. You never have been, and never will be."

"But I'm…."

"I don't see anything different about you, Duo Maxwell," Wufei said, interrupting the braided teen. "You're still human on the inside, even if you aren't on the outside." Duo stared at him.

"I need to drink blood just to stay alive."

"Drink mine then. There are ways to keep my blood supply sufficient for both of us, and there are other Vampires who can help you learn and adapt. We'll get through this. Trust me."

Duo closed his eyes and rested his head again. "I do. I always do." Wufei smiled slightly. He walked down the hall towards Duo's room. He pushed the door open and walked inside. He went over to the bed. He lowered Duo down onto the soft covers. He leaned over to cover the braided teen with a pitch black blanket.

"Good night, Duo."

Duo curled up under his blanket. Already the stress of the night was catching up with him, and his mind was shutting down on him. "Night, 'Fei," he muttered. Wufei nodded. He left the room, closing the door silently behind him.


	2. Cost of Humanity

Disclaimer: GW is not mine, nor will it ever. Enough said. The guest character, I'm not telling who either, also does not belong to me.

Chapter 1

Cost of Humanity

April 27th, AC 198

Wufei leaned against the doorframe. Duo pounded his head against the floor, screaming in pain. Wufei had heard that the change to a Vampire was painful, and watching Duo for the third night in the row cemented that knowledge in his mind.

The braided teen screamed. He slammed his head into the wooden floor. Blood dripped to the ground. Wufei rushed forward. "Duo!" He grabbed the changing young man. He threw Duo onto his back and secured his hands above his head.

Duo instantly froze. "No, don't do it…. Please… don't do it…." he begged. Wufei flinched slightly, realizing that the Vampire had done the very same thing to Duo that night.

"I won't hurt you, Duo," Wufei said calmly. He pulled Duo into his arms and listened to the gasps of pain and felt the racing heartbeat. "I won't let you go through this alone."

Duo stopped breathing the instant Wufei's lips touched his own. The kiss lasted only a couple of seconds before Wufei pulled away.

"I'll always be here," Wufei stated confidently. Duo stared at the Chinese man, confused, before a cry caused by a wave of sharp new pain ripped through the night. Wufei held him as he trembled through the pain.

----------

Wufei turned to look back at Duo one more time before he left. The braided teen had fallen asleep only half an hour ago, exhausted from the harsh night of changes brought on by the Vampire attack. He was laying on the bed, sound asleep and oblivious to Wufei's movements. Wufei smiled and quietly shut the door behind him.

----------

The Preventors office was strangely quiet as Wufei walked through the aisles towards Commander Une's office. He ignored the secretary's surprised warning and stormed into the woman's office. Wufei slammed the door behind him. "I want to get a transfer to the night shift," he demanded.

"Let me call you back, Sally. Just after I finish murdering Agent Chang," Une said coldly. She put the phone down. "What do you need, Chang?"

"I want to get a transfer to the night shift," Wufei repeated.

Une's eyebrow rose slightly. "What about your partner, Agent Maxwell?"

"Him too."

"Alright. Is there a reason with the sudden change in shift preferences?"

"Duo's just been under a lot of stress recently."

"I heard from the Council already, Chang," Une said calmly. "Now I want to know what exactly you're going to do about him."

"I'm going to take care of him."

Une glared at him. "You must be kidding. How will you feed his thirst for blood?!"

Wufei frowned. "I'll work it out. I know some magicians who can make blood replacers."

"Blood…" Une's eyes widened. "You can't be thinking of feeding him by yourself! You'll die!"

Wufei turned away from the aggravating woman. "I won't let anyone harm him again!" he snapped. Une instantly went quiet. "Just give me the transfer, and I'll take care of him!"

Une stared at the Chinese man. "Fine, I'll give you the transfer, but if **anything **unnatural happens during the night shift that harms anyone else, Chang, and I'll make sure Duo Maxwell is put where he belongs."

Wufei knew that Commander Une had always been one of the more conservative Light agents. They thought in purely black and white. A Vampire, by definition, was Dark, and to the conservative party, every Vampire that was identified should be killed or locked up where they can test weapons on them. Wufei had already gotten three Councils members on his side should he have to fight for Duo's freedom.

Wufei accepted the victory and walked out of the office.

----------

Wufei walked through the front door and was instantly assaulted by a pleasant aroma. His mouth watered slightly at the smell of a freshly cooked dinner. He quickly quelled the urge to run into the kitchen and devour everything. It was hard though.

The Chinese Preventor moved into the kitchen. Duo turned to look at him. Duo was paler than normal, and he looked exhausted. The braided teen was already past the point of no return to become human again. Wufei knew that he had to start providing Duo with blood soon. Otherwise, Duo would begin hunting humans, and the body count would start rising. If that happened, even the three Council members wouldn't be able to help Duo.

"Dinner's ready," Duo said calmly.

Wufei smirked. "I could smell it."

"Well, sit down." Duo motioned to the table. The two pilots went over and sat down at the table.

Duo and Wufei talked quietly over the food Duo had cooked for them. Wufei smiled slightly. He hoped that Duo was finally through the worst of the changes. It was almost too much for the Chinese man to listen his friend cry out in pain.

So Wufei wasn't prepared for the sudden shiver that seized the braided teen and threw him from the chair onto the floor. Wufei shoved his chair back as he stood up. He rushed over to Duo. He lifted the trembling teen and carried him into the bedroom. Wufei deposited Duo on the soft bed carefully; here, Duo would be able to move around as much as possible and not hurt himself.

Duo curled up on the bed, shaking viciously. Wufei began to worry. 'Something's wrong with this' he thought quickly. Wufei felt Duo grab onto his shirt and looked down. The braided teen was covered in sweat, and he gasped for breath.

"F-Fei…"

Wufei pulled Duo closer to his chest. He felt the braided pilot stiffen slightly, the memory of the rape hard to shake off. "I'm right here," Wufei said reassuringly. Duo visibly relaxed. A few minutes later, Wufei registered the fact that Duo was asleep. Wufei got up off of the bed and left the room. He walked downstairs into the kitchen to clean up the dinner Duo had worked hard to make.

"You know you should start giving him blood soon," a firm voice said behind him. The Chinese man spun around to meet the intruder.

"How did you get past the seals?" he demanded.

The woman laughed. She was tall and slender, with long black hair and dark red eyes. She wore a long, suggestive black dress with the symbol of the moon embroidered into the fabric at various places. "Any Neutral person can get in here easily. And as the Wish-Granter, I am eternally Neutral."

Wufei froze. Ichihara Yuko was famous in the magical community for her ability to grant wishes, but only if the person was willing to pay an equal price. She also was one of the few people who kept a huge war from breaking out between the Light and the Dark. Wufei was grateful for her ability to keep peace like that; he did not want to fight another war.

"What do you want, Ichihara?" Wufei growled.

The Wish-Granter smirked. "I wanted to see the new young Vampire."

"Has someone made a wish about him?"

"No, they haven't. I just wanted to see him myself." Yuko smirked again. "He's very cute. He'd have to be to attract someone like you." Her expression got serious for once. "You have to be very careful with someone like him, Chang Wufei. A lot of people would want to get their hands on a Vampire, especially an untrained one, and your friend won't know when to stop drinking your blood. You could die because of the person you're trying to save."

"I know that."

"You need to give him blood."

Wufei sighed. "I'll give it to him tomorrow."

"You must give it to him tonight. Otherwise, he'll go out hunting tomorrow night, and you know what will happen then."

Wufei paused, his hand an inch away from Duo's untouched plate. His mind flashed a dozen possibilities of what might happen to Duo if the Vampire in him went berserk. The worst was Duo chained to a bed and being subjected to horrible experiments to find out just what exactly would kill a Vampire the fastest. "I want him to be human."

"I can't grant that wish. The price would be impossibly high." Wufei sighed in defeat. Yuko noticed the lost look in the Chinese man's eyes. "But I can grant him a small measure of humanity."

"Like what?"

"Perhaps the ability to walk in the sunlight and be able to go for longer periods of time without the thirst for blood?"

Wufei felt relief wash over him. "What would I have to pay for him to have that much?" he asked cautiously.

"Each time he drinks your blood, you'll lose about half of your magic. It'll be temporary, of course, but should you be attacked within that time, I'm not sure you'll be able to adequately defend yourself." Yuko's voice was stern and filled with warnings. "That will be your price for your friend's humanity. Are you sure you want to do this?"

"I'm sure."

Yuko nodded. "Very well. Go up there and give him blood. Then he won't be in pain anymore."

Wufei looked away from her and finished cleaning up the ruined dinner. When he glanced back, the smug woman was gone. He sighed. Wufei had absolutely no idea on how to feed a Vampire without becoming one himself. Granted, there were spells that could keep him from turning into a Vampire, but Wufei didn't know any of them.

Wufei sat down at the empty table. His mind was running in every direction, trying to figure out what to do with his situation. Suddenly his mind clamped down on a small tidbit of information he'd read during his time with Mariemeia. _The change will occur only if the Vampire bites a person for the express purpose of making another Vampire._ So, if Duo didn't want to make Wufei become a Vampire, the Chinese man was safe from infection. Wufei got up. He walked up the stairs and down the hall to Duo's room. He opened the door as quietly as possibly. He smiled slightly at the resting teenager on the bed. Wufei hated to wake Duo up, but he knew he had to.

Wufei went over to Duo and gently shook his slender shoulder. Beautiful violet eyes opened slowly. "F…Fei?" he asked sleepily.

"Duo, I need you to do something. I know you won't like it, but you have to do it." Duo stared at Wufei. "It'll keep you from attacking other people, alright? You don't want to do that, do you?"

Duo shook his head slowly. "What do you want me to do?"

Wufei sat down on the bed. He noticed Duo flinch slightly. "You need to drink my blood."

Duo paled sharply. "But that will… You'll become a Vampire!"

"Do you want me to become one?" Wufei asked softly.

"No, of course not!"

Wufei sighed. "Then I'll be fine." Wufei held out an arm. "Just bite gently, and only enough to satisfy your hunger."

Duo leaned forward. "I don't know how to do this."

"Bite my wrist."

Duo jerked back. "I can't!" he cried.

Wufei let out a long breath. He went into the bathroom and got a clean razor out of the drawer. He walked back into the bedroom. Duo stared at him cautiously. Wufei calmly dragged the blades across his wrist. Crimson blood flowed forth. Wufei saw Duo's eyes take on the familiar cat-like irises, and the violet-eyed teen licked his lips in thirst. "Here," Wufei said calmly. He extended his arm again. Duo leaned forward, and Wufei hissed at the strange sensation of the blood being licked off of his skin. It didn't hurt. In fact, Wufei felt an euphoria wash over him.

The sensation lasted for only a few seconds, and then it was over. Duo laid back down. Wufei pulled the covers over the lithe frame, ignoring the sheer exhaustion he felt. He knew it was the price he'd paid for Duo to have a small measure of his humanity back. "Did I hurt you?" Duo mumbled.

Wufei shook his head. "It didn't hurt at all. If anything, it felt rather good."

Duo blushed slightly. "Oh. That's good."

"Don't worry about me, alright?" Wufei said calmly, leaning down to kiss Duo on the forehead. The braided teen shivered slightly. "Everything will be fine. Just go to bed." Duo ignored the gentle command. Wufei sighed. Tonight was starting to catch up with the Chinese Preventor. "I'll be right here. Now sleep."

The violet eyes slowly closed, and Duo's breathing evened out. Wufei finally allowed himself to fall asleep and recover from the blood loss. He wrapped his arms around Duo just as the world went blank.


	3. Dinner

Disclaimer: I don't own GW or any guest characters that should appear in this story. Guess what anime they're from!

WARNING: Pissed Heero, Quatre on happy pills (a LOT of them!! XP)

Chapter 2

Dinner

May 19th, AC 198

Wufei ran the sharp blade over his wrist and watched the blood begin to flow. He glanced over at Duo. The braided teen was focused completely on the crimson fluid sliding down Wufei's arm. The Chinese Preventor motioned for Duo to walk closer. Duo obeyed Wufei's silent command, and soon, the two Gundam pilots were standing almost uncomfortably close. The beautiful mouth closed over the self-inflicted wound. Wufei felt the familiar euphoria drown out the strange sensation caused by the blood loss.

The young Vampire finished after only a few seconds. Duo was rapidly learning to time his meals so he wouldn't drink Wufei dry. He pulled back silently, wiping his hand across his mouth to get rid of the blood. Wufei noticed how color returned to the deathly white face almost immediately. The violet eyes lost their cat-like qualities quickly, the normal irises forming again.

"How are you feeling?" the Chinese man asked calmly. He wrapped a bandage around his wrist. The advantage to being a willing target for Duo's thirst for blood was the injuries healed impossibly fast. Duo was not that lucky; Wufei could still see the twin puncture wounds just above the junction of neck and shoulder. It would take a while for those to fully disappear. Wufei pushed the depressing thought away. He knew that Duo remained blissfully unaware of the thoughts that sometimes plagued the Chinese man.

Duo walked over to the front hall. "Better." He pulled a Preventor coat off of the rack and slid it on. "We should probably get going. Une will have our heads if we're not on time."

Wufei sighed and followed the braided teen out the door.

----------

May 26th, AC 198

Heero glanced over at the two empty desks. He hadn't seen, let alone spoken, to neither Duo nor Wufei in nearly a month. Wufei's absence was understandable; he was always on missions, but Duo worked in the mechanics' workshop and rarely went on missions. Of course, they were partners, but that didn't change the fact that Heero hasn't been able to meet either of them during the day shift. Their desks, however, showed signs of recent use.

The Japanese Preventor reached over to his telephone. He connected with the Preventor Headquarters' operator. "Hello?"

"Connect me with Agent Chang's home phone," Heero ordered. "It's important."

----------

Wufei jerked awake when he heard the phone ringing. He swore softly as he dragged himself out of bed. He stepped out into the hall. He slipped past Duo's door. He walked into the living room and answered it. "Hello?" he asked, still somewhat asleep.

"Wufei, my god, it's good to hear you again!" Quatre said cheerfully. "I was beginning to worry that you were avoiding us!"

"No, we got transferred to the night shift," Wufei stated calmly. "Duo and I had to get used to sleeping during the day."

Quatre said something to Trowa. "Did I interrupt your sleep?"

"No, I got up early." It hurt Wufei to lie to the gentle blonde, but he knew that Quatre would worry himself sick if he knew that he did, in fact, wake Wufei. "You know how Duo is sometimes. If someone doesn't wake him up, he'll sleep until the end of time."

Quatre laughed. All of the Gundam pilots had some experience with getting the L2 colonist awake. Each of them had developed a special technique for Duo, but when Quatre asked Wufei what his was, the Chinese pilot had blushed slightly, glared at him, and proceeded to disappear into his room for the rest of the day. Immediately, Quatre had felt the embarrassment and affection radiating off of Wufei. "Well, I should probably get going."

"Wait," Wufei said suddenly. Quatre paused and waited. "How… How about… you come… for dinner tonight? I'm sure I can fix something up."

"Really?! I'd love to! Can I bring Trowa and Heero along?"

Now it was Wufei's turn to pause. He expected Quatre to bring Trowa along, but the suggestion to bring Heero Yuy along was sudden. "I guess it wouldn't hurt," Wufei said, hesitating slightly.

"We'll be there at six! Bye, Wufei!"

"Bye." Wufei hung up his phone. Almost immediately, the Chinese man regretted allowing Quatre to bring Trowa and Heero. Even though a month had passed since the rape, Duo was still somewhat skittish. The braided teen had gotten used to Wufei, but at work, Wufei had been forced to threaten bodily harm on anyone who came within three feet of Duo after the mechanic had nearly cracked his skull open when an assistant startled him while he was working on the engine of an armored car. Wufei didn't know how Duo would react to meeting with the other pilots, their adopted brothers, two of whom Wufei knew could snap Duo in half if they wanted.

Wufei turned the ring tone off and after putting the phone down on the table, walked upstairs.

----------

Rukia paused as she passed Agent Yuy's office door. The Japanese Preventor was glaring at his telephone like he wanted it to disappear or do something that it wasn't made to do. Like burst into flames or something like that.

"Yo! Rukia! Get your head out of the clouds!" Renji yelled from down the hall. The young woman snapped her head towards her red-haired friend. "We've got a mission! Come on!"

"Coming!" Rukia yelled back. Renji shrugged and turned to talk with her older brother. She glanced back at the glaring officer. She sighed in defeat and ran over to her partner. "Get a room, you two, and let's go."

Rukia avoided the glare that Byakuya sent her way. Renji turned away from the two Kuchiki siblings to hide his blush.

----------

Heero slammed his phone down on the desk and smirked when he heard the plastic snap in half. He was tired of Wufei's blatant avoidance of him. The Japanese pilot glared at the broken piece of equipment, hoping, praying that it would immediately set itself on fire.

"Sir, there's a phone call for you from Mister Winner," a young woman said calmly. Heero turned his glare on her, but the woman had become accustomed to his unspoken death threats over the past few months. The secretary eyed the destroyed telephone on the desk. "I'll transfer it to Agent Maxwell's desk," she said before turning to leave the office.

Shortly after she left, Duo's phone rang. Heero virtually launched himself over his desk to get it. "Yuy," he growled into the phone.

"Heero, I just wanted to know if you wanted to join Trowa and me for dinner at Wufei and Duo's at six?"

"I need to talk to Wufei anyway, so I might as well."

"That's great! I'll call them back later. Then they can-."

"Quatre," Heero said calmly, interrupting the blonde's excited babbling. Quatre went quiet. "Do you know why Wufei and Duo haven't been coming to work?"

Quatre was silent for a second. "Wufei said that he and Duo got transferred to the night shift, so they've been sleeping in during the day."

Heero accepted the reason quietly. It explained why Wufei and Duo were no longer coming in during the day, but it didn't explain why they had gotten the transfer in the first place. Neither pilot worked as well at night in comparison to the daytime. Despite Duo's inability to wake up at a reasonable time in the morning, the braided teen had admitted to enjoying the daytime more than the night. The action went against the Duo Maxwell and Chang Wufei that Heero had come to expect.

"Do you need someone to come and pick you up?" Quatre asked innocently.

Heero glared at the phone for a few seconds. "I do have a car, Quatre," he said, scolding the blond boy. "So I'll meet you there."

"Alright, Heero. See you then," Quatre said, effectively ending the call.

The Japanese Preventor hung up the phone. He had questions that he wanted answered, and tonight would be the perfect time to ask them.

----------

Quatre ran to answer the door. "Heero! It's good to see you!" he cheered. The blond heir let the Japanese pilot into Duo and Wufei's house. The braided teen was helping Wufei set up the table. "Duo and Wufei are just finishing getting dinner together." Quatre led Heero into the dining room.

Wufei was dressed in his uniform pants and white dress shirt. He had left his gun and badge in his room. His hair was tied back into its signature ponytail. Obsidian eyes glanced over at Heero as the Japanese man walked into the room.

Duo walked into the dining room, holding a large plate of food. "Oh, hey, Heero," he said hesitantly. His pale skin stood out against the black turtleneck and pants he was wearing under the bottom part of his mechanic's uniform. His meter-long braid swayed with each step he took. Duo set the plate down on the table. As he bent down, the golden crucifix around his neck hung dangerously low. "Well, dinner is served. Quatre, would you call Trowa in?"

"I'm right here, Duo," Trowa said.

The braided teen jumped. "Trowa! Jesus Christ, where the hell did you come from?!" Duo said, spinning to confront the silent pilot. Trowa stared at Duo. Duo seemed to pale suddenly, if that was possible. Trowa and Heero both noticed the defensive posture Duo unconsciously took and wonder what had caused the severe changes in Duo's reactions to them. It had to have been something extremely bad for it to have affected the cheerful teen so much.

Dinner passed fairly quietly. Duo chatted cheerfully with Quatre. "How was the business going" frequently passed over the table. Quatre eagerly replied with "Excellent but stressful" to each repeat. Duo laughed in return, and Heero and Trowa noticed nothing of the creature they'd seen only an hour ago. The mask was firmly in place.

Heero glanced down at his food. "Who made this?"

Duo flinched. "It was my turn to cook tonight," he said cautiously.

"It's good." Duo smiled slightly. Heero could see the relief in the lovely violet eyes. Duo was hiding something serious, and Heero wondered how it would affect the rest of them. "I was wondering why you weren't coming to work during the day anymore."

Both Duo and Wufei froze, heightening Heero's suspicions. "Things happened, and we chose to transfer to night shift," Wufei growled. He noticed the look in Heero's eyes. "Don't try to dig any deeper, Yuy. There's no trail to follow, and Une's been sworn to silence."

Heero glared at the Chinese man. He acknowledged the fact that Duo was standing up to clear the table. It was getting late, and soon, both of the hosts would have to leave for work. Duo picked up a plate and walked into the kitchen. Quatre and Wufei moved to help the slender teen. Heero looked over at Trowa. The taller brunette shrugged at Heero's unspoken question. Quatre walked back into the dining room and sat down next to Trowa. Heero sighed in defeat. He knew that nothing could be done here.

Heero got up. He grabbed the last plate and carried it into the kitchen. His mental processes came to an abrupt halt when he saw Duo pinned to the sink by Wufei's strong arms. The two pilots turned to look at him in surprise. Wufei pushed away from the counter. "We'll talk about this later," he warned. Duo simply grinned in return. The gesture didn't reach his eyes. Wufei left the room, heading back into the dining room.

Duo turned back to the dishes in the sink. Heero walked over to him and set the dish down on the counter. "What did Wufei want?"

Duo let out a burst of air, almost like he was about to start laughing. "He just wanted to make sure I had eaten enough, among other things. Never would have guessed him for the mother type."

"Have you?" Duo turned, one eyebrow raised. "Eating, that is." Duo laughed, but the sound sent a shiver down Heero's spine.

"Yeah, I've been eating. Eating myself sick sometimes," Duo said unexpectedly coldly with just a touch of defensive sadness. "I'm getting better though."

"Duo! We have to get going!" Wufei called from the front room.

"Well, I should probably be going," Duo said, turning to leave the room. Heero sighed. He followed Duo out the door.

Wufei walked into the nearly empty garage and scanned the room. His obsidian eyes fell on the braided teen leaning into the front end of a patrol car. Already the navy blue uniform was dirty with oil and grease. "Duo," Wufei said, his voice barely audible above the music Duo was playing.

Duo heard him anyway and extracted himself from the car's hood. Wufei frowned at the deathly pale face smeared with black oil and the cat's irises in both amethyst eyes. "Hey, Wufei," Duo said. He walked over to his friend, wiping the his hands off on the uniform. It was easy to wash the grease and oil off. "What do you need?"

"You need to eat," Wufei said simply.

Duo looked away slightly. "Do we have to do that now?" he asked quietly.

Wufei led Duo into the side office. Duo went to sit down as Wufei locked the door and closed the blinds. "Vampires will attack people if they get hungry, and those people are turned into Vampires," Wufei stated. "Do you want that?" It hurt Wufei to use Duo's protective nature and his overwhelming guilt to get the braided teen to eat sometimes, but it had to be done.

Duo sighed in defeat. He got up from the chair. Wufei grabbed a knife off of a nearby desk. He knew that it was safe to use; Preventors, especially mechanics, kept very good care of their weapons. He opened the blade and dragged it across his lower arm, careful to avoid any major blood vessels. Duo closed the distance between them.

The euphoria swept over Wufei as Duo began to drink the dripping blood. He concentrated on staying on his feet until Duo finished. His mind went blank.

As always, the feeling lasted less than a minute. Wufei was barely aware of Duo pulling away as he slowly recovered from the blood loss. He felt weak, his magic drained as according to his deal with Yuuko. By the time Wufei completely regained consciousness, Duo was gone from the office and back into the garage.

Wufei sat down on the same chair Duo had claimed. He reached into his uniform pocket and pulled out a small bottle. He tipped it over, and the last pill fell out. He popped it in his mouth and swallowed. He immediately felt slightly better. The blood replacer worked quickly. The cut on his arm closed and healed, and some of the lost blood was slowly replenished. The two pilots were falling into a routine that Wufei knew would protect the fledgling Vampire from the more radical conservatives. If not, Wufei would take Duo and disappear. He knew more than enough vanishing spells to hide from the magical world until the end of time if need be. No one would be able to find them if they disappeared.


	4. Unexpected Allies

Disclaimer: I don't own GW. OK? Good.

Chapter 3

Unexpected Allies

October 25th, AC 198

Wufei walked into the store. He started going to the Green Drug Pharmacy ever since he and Duo were transferred down to Earth in early July, and he had become good friends with Kakei, the owner, and his 'partner' Saiga. "Oh, Mr. Chang," a young, dirty-blond teen said cheerfully.

Wufei nodded to the employee. "Good afternoon, Kudo," he said calmly.

"I'll go get Kakei for you." Kudo walked into the back room, and a few seconds later, Kakei came out, followed closely by Saiga. The brunette store owner smiled gently at Wufei.

"I take it you're back for a refill?" Kakei asked. "Type B replacement, right?" Wufei nodded, and the man turned back to the prescription drugs behind the counter. He scanned the labels. Once he found the one he was looking for, he pulled the small bottle down off the shelf. "Here you go. That'll be 20 credits." Wufei placed the money on the counter.

As Kakei put the money away, Saiga looked up at Wufei. "Be careful walking home tonight. A lot of people have disappeared, and the last thing your Vampire friend needs is for you to join them," the tall man said sternly. The Chinese pilot nodded.

Wufei grabbed the small bag and left the small drug store. The sun had already set on the small town, and Wufei knew that the night was the realm of Dark creatures. Anyone caught outside in the darkness would risk the chance of encountering any one of the bloodthirsty creatures. 'Including the one that changed Duo' Wufei thought sadly.

Wufei kept to the streets; they were lit and provided some protection against Dark creatures. It was too late to call a cab.

The Chinese pilot turned onto an empty street and frowned when he saw that all of the streetlamps were out. He quickly tried to think of a detour he could take, but nothing came to him. He sighed before he stepped out of the ring of light and into the darkness.

About halfway down the street, Wufei heard soft footsteps behind him. He's grateful that the street was abandoned; he could use his weakened magic to defend himself against an attack. Goosebumps rippled down his arms in response to the magic in the air. For once, Wufei felt dangerously helpless. He hated the feeling. He was used to having a lot stronger magic at his whim. Now he wasn't sure if he could take down the Dark monsters.

Wufei took off running before the werewolf could finish howling. He raced down the street, listening to the wolves behind him pant after him. He didn't dare to look back at them.

Wufei never saw the magician step out of the shadows after he passed. He didn't see the spell come flying at him. He gasped when the binding spell hit him in the back. Wufei's arms and legs locked up, and he fell to the ground. His head cracked against the asphalt. The Chinese magician could just barely see someone step next to him, talking to his attackers, before he welcomed the darkness.

----------

The pain in Wufei's head forced him to return to consciousness. He opened his eyes, but he quickly closed them to shut out the bright light. He groaned in pain. He carefully raised a hand to touch his aching head; a bandage covered the small injury there.

"I see you're awake, Chang Wufei," a strangely familiar voice said calmly. Wufei turned his head towards the voice. "I turned the lights down. You can open your eyes."

Wufei did just as the familiar stranger suggested. His vision was blurry, but slowly the stranger came into focus. It took a while for Wufei to recognize the red-brown hair and ice blue eyes, but when he did, he swore loudly and jumped off the bed. "You bastard!"

Treize smirked slightly. "Come now, Wufei. Is that any way to greet an old friend?" Wufei glared darkly. "I was a little surprised to see-."

"What the hell are you doing alive?!" Wufei yelled, interrupting the former General. "I killed you! You're supposed to be dead!"

Treize shook his head. "You did kill me. The Wish-Granter gave me a body to use."

Wufei stared at him questioningly. "What was your price?"

"My place in history. I can never try to reclaim my name. Treize Kushrenada is dead. It's simply coincidence that I, a lonely ghost, look like him."

"I don't trust you," Wufei growled.

Treize leaned down close. "I don't expect you to, but would your honor allow you to remain in someone's debt? Even if that someone is your enemy?" Wufei glared. Treize smirked again. "I didn't think so."

Wufei nearly set the man on fire as Treize gently pressed his lips against Wufei's. The Chinese pilot pushed against the ghost's chest, trying to break the intimate contact. Treize pushed further. Wufei felt his mouth being forced open and a tongue sliding in. He bit down harshly; Treize's tongue retreated quickly. The brunette allowed a pained look to cross his face. "That's not very nice," Treize muttered.

"I don't care. I refuse to let you have your way with me."

Ice blue eyes narrowed dangerously. "Afraid that your little Vampire will find out?" he asked. Wufei froze. "Did you think that both sides didn't know about Duo Maxwell? That they don't know that you're his weakness? That you are the only person protecting him from the conservatives?" Wufei looked away. "They will come after you, Chang Wufei, and once you're out of the way, nothing, and I mean nothing, will stop them from killing Duo."

"I won't allow that."

"I know you won't. Just know that several high-ranking officials are on your side. Even the King of the Vampires himself has offered his assistance to find the man who did this to Duo." It took a second for Wufei's brain to process the information, and even then, his brain nearly fried itself. He could only stare blankly at Treize; the ghost smirked. "It has been agreed by both sides that Duo Maxwell is a very unique individual. Some are even saying he should be considered Neutral. A spokesperson for both sides."

"Why are you telling me this?"

"It was part of my deal with Yuuko for my chance for a new life," Treize said calmly. The look on his face told Wufei not to ask questions. "I bet you're getting hungry. I'll get you something to eat." Wufei remained quiet as the ghost stood up and walked into the other room. The ghost quickly returned with a bowl of soup. "Here. The spell might have ruined your appetite though. Eat only what you can."

"Who tried to kidnap me?" Wufei asked as he began to eat.

Treize sat back down. "A small rogue Magician thought he could use you to get a better reputation. You know as well as I that reputation is everything to the Dark."

"Bastard," Wufei muttered. He pushed the bowl of soup away. Treize grabbed it before it could fall off the tray. The Chinese pilot started to get up off the bed.

"What are you doing?" Treize asked. He gently pushed the magician back onto the bed.

Wufei shook the hand off. "I've got to get back to Duo. If someone's attacked me, what's to say that Duo hasn't?"

Treize saw the reasoning behind Wufei's logic. "Fine." Wufei moved again. "But I'm going with. You're still weakened by the spell."

Wufei consented to the additional help. Treize let him change into clean clothes in private, and they walked out to the parking garage. The two men climbed into Treize's nondescript car and took off towards the suburbs.

----------

Wufei pushed the door open and ran inside. "Duo?! Duo?! Answer me!" he yelled, barely managing to keep the desperation out of his voice. Silence answered them. Treize closed the door quietly. He studied the living room in shock. Tables, lamps, and bedside tables had been knocked over in Duo's struggle against his attacker, and blood was splashed on the walls. Treize could tell that the blood was already mostly dry. The braided Vampire was nowhere to be found. Wufei yelled in anger.


	5. Break Point

Disclaimer! I don't own Gundam Wing, The Dresden Files, or FMA! So don't sue me!

Chapter 4

Break Point

October 31st, AC 198

Wufei walked up to the lone woman sitting at the back of the restaurant eating a large steak. The slim Chinese woman didn't even glance up as he approached. "Chang."

"Mai." The woman motioned for him to sit down.

"I never would have imagined a Magician from the Dragon Clan, even the last one, coming to me for help," she said calmly. "My condolences for your loss. I highly respected the Dragon Clan. It is a shame that it was nearly wiped out." Wufei shrugged. He had heard the words from most of the Magicians he spoke to in the past three years. Personally he was sick and tired of it. "I know you need my help in finding the person who stole Duo Maxwell. I have people out looking for your Vampire. He is somehow vital to the balance of this world. It has already been agreed that he shouldn't have been changed; it breaches the cease-fire we have with the Vampires. Some of the more… **aggressive** Elders are calling for war."

"I don't understand why he was taken. He's far too young to be a threat to most Magic-users, Dark and Light alike, and he's only been drinking my blood."

Mai glanced at him. "Chang, there are far more things that require a Vampire to be present than you think, and not all of them are good."

Wufei felt himself pale. "You don't mean…" She nodded grimly. He quickly thanked her for her time and rushed out of the restaurant.

----------

Treize looked up when he heard the door slam shut. Wufei stormed into the room. He grabbed a book off the shelf and stalked back to the table. Slamming the book down, he collapsed into his chair. Treize stared at him. "What's wrong?" he asked Wufei.

Wufei didn't answer him. The Magician found the page he was looking for. "Dear Gods… What are they planning?"

Treize drifted to look over Wufei's shoulder. "A spell?"

"To travel between worlds, no doubt." The two men turned towards the voice. Yuko smiled at them from the couch in the attached living room. "A very old and very costly method."

"Why are you helping us?" Wufei demanded.

The long-haired woman laughed haughtily and shrugged. "I want to keep the world in balance, and I must admit I've grown rather fond of the young Vampire."

"You make it sound as if we haven't tried," Treize said cautiously.

Yuko laughed again. "There's more than one way to find something. Although some are not as pleasant as others."

Wufei frowned. "What do you mean?"

"Come with me, Chang Wufei," the Wish-Granter said coldly. She got up and walked upstairs to Wufei's room. The Chinese Magician followed silently. "Did you know, Wufei, that Vampires are notorious for having trouble releasing the energies needed for a tracking spell? In fact… The only times they can do it naturally is either when they're feeding or otherwise extremely excited, and here, I can feel a lot of that energy. I take it he's gotten over that night?" Wufei turned beet red. "Well, it's good for us that you two are so… passionate. Give me your hand."

The Magician followed her instructions. She poked his pointer finger. "What are you doing?" he asked as blood began to pool.

"It's the cost for this spell," she said simply, pulling out a square piece of paper. She pressed it against his finger. "There we are…" She folded the paper into the shape of a small crane and set it on the bed.

"Two targets have been located," the bird chirped. "Target 1, five feet away. Light alignment. Specialty: fire magic, A-rank. Target 2, seventy miles north by northeast. Neutral alignment. Specialty: wind magic, S-rank. Warning! Thirteen Vampires located in the immediate area." The bird went silent. Yuko picked up the paper creature and unfolded it. A map was drawn in Wufei's blood showing the locations of the two "targets".

"I think you have your answer."

----------

Wufei slipped through the door into the dimly lit room. He could barely see the cages standing in a circular pattern. He moved over to them. Duo stood up and grabbed the bars of his cage. "Fei?!" The Chinese man rushed over to the braided Vampire. "How'd you find us?"

"I got help from some very powerful people," he said simply as he worked to get the lock open. It was locked with several Magical seals far stronger than most Vampires could cast. He quickly broke through the first four, but just as he was beginning to work on the last 3, he felt the familiar tingle of Magic behind him. He dove to the left, and a lightning bolt struck the cage's barrier, causing Duo to yelp in pain.

Wufei launched a spark of fire at the Vampire. The stranger moved out of the way. Wufei jumped to his feet and sent a few more spells in the Dark creature's direction. He smirked as the Vampire cried out in pain. He was just about to strike again when something hit him in the back. Wufei immediately felt drained, weak and collapsed to the ground. "Fei!" Duo yelled.

"A child?" a deep voice grumbled. "You're getting careless, Nikolai." An older Magician, a human, stepped out of the shadows.

"Don't patronized me, Erik," the Vampire growled. The Magician shrugged. "I thought you said no one would be able to find us."

"It doesn't matter now. We've got enough Magical energy to get to the other side."

"Finally!" Nikolai cheered. "What should we do about out little guest?"

Erik looked down at Wufei. "We'll use him too. Throw him in with that one." The Magician pointed to Duo's cage. The Vampire picked up the weakened Chinese pilot and carried him over to Duo's cage. After unlocking the door, he threw Wufei in. The door clanged shut, and the locks reinforced. The Vampire walked back over to Erik and smirked. Erik frowned at his Dark counterpart. He bent down to brush his hand over a pattern carved into the ground. It flared to life. "With this sacrifice, we'll travel to a new world!"

The world around the two captive pilots blurred, and they suddenly found themselves standing in front of a large, black gate. Duo shivered slightly. Nikolai and Erik stepped forward. "We use these people to pay the toll to cross into another realm."

A translucent child appeared in front of the small group. "Very well… You may go." The gate creaked open, and the two madmen walked through.

As the gate began to close again, Wufei, finally recovered from his weakness, grabbed Duo's hand and pulled him up. They rushed through the gate, ignoring the disembodied hands reaching out to claim the other prisoners.

----------

All over the world, Magical beings felt something tear. Mai and Yuko, being Elders, bore the pain in silence, but many weaker and untrained people immediately fell unconscious.

Trowa rushed to Quatre's side as the blond heir curled into a tight ball, his face pale and distorted by pain. "Quatre! What's wrong?"

Glazed aquamarine eyes opened and focused on Trowa's face. "It feels like something's breaking… I… I can't feel Duo or Wufei anymore… It hurts, Trowa…"

----------

Alone in an empty house, no one heard two children crying.


	6. Sun and Darkness

Disclaimer: Same as every other disclaimer in this fandom. Don't own Gundam Wing, so don't sue me!

Pairing(s): Ocx2, 5x2, 3x4

Warnings: AU, crossover

Chapter 5

Star and Moon

AC 198, November 17th

Quatre walked through the crowded streets, unconsciously rubbing at his chest. Trowa was still hesitant to allow him out of the house after the incident a little over two weeks ago. The doctor had found nothing to explain the sudden attack. He had written it off as work-related stress.

Duo and Wufei had not been heard in that time. Sending Rashid and Abdul to their house showed it was empty. Books on magic and the occult had been scattered throughout the house. Dirty clothes, an unmade bed, and dishes overflowing from the sink gave no clue as to what caused the two Gundam pilots to go into hiding.

A flash of familiar chestnut brown disappearing into an alleyway made Quatre pause. He quickly chased after his missing friend, hoping to demand answers from him as to why they disappeared for so long.

Duo was as quick as always, and several times, Quatre thought he had lost him. Every time, though, he caught sight of the end of his braid disappearing into the crowd or another alleyway. Soon, Quatre was close enough to reach out and grab the very tip of the plait.

A feminine voice cried out. Quatre blushed when he realized he had grabbed a young girl's hair, not Duo's braid. "Let go of my hair, mister!" she whimpered. "I promise I didn't take anything!"

Quatre released her. The girl stood in front of him, holding her hair protectively. Her dark-blue eyes watched him cautiously. Quatre knelled down to show he wouldn't hurt her. "I'm sorry. I thought you were a friend of mine. He had hair like yours. I didn't mean to hurt you. I'll get you ice cream as an apology."

----------

The pair of strangers sat on the park bench, silently eating their ice cream cones. Quatre looked out of the corner of his eye at the little girl. She was small and slender, with chestnut brown hair and navy blue eyes. Her skin was pale, despite being on Earth, and she spoke with a somewhat regal air. She was polite and quiet.

"It's dangerous for someone as young as you to be wandering around on your own," Quatre said, breaking the silence. The little girl glanced at him. "Where are your parents?"

"I don't know. My brother and I woke up two weeks ago in an empty house. Yuuko and Treize have been taking care of us ever since." She swung her legs in a normal child-like manner.

Quatre froze. "Treize? Does this Treize have a last name?" He knew that Treize was an uncommon name, but he hoped anyway.

The little girl paused. "It's Kushrenada. The former OZ general killed during the first Eve War."

"If you know he's dead, then how is he helping raise you?" Quatre asked.

The girl looked at him, and Quatre swore her eyes changed from dark blue to violet. "How much do you believe in magic?"

----------

The silence was almost tangible as the two former enemies met for the first time in almost three years. Quatre couldn't believe his eyes. Treize Kushrenada looked as calm and regal as he did in life. Alya, as the little girl was called, and later Mai, the small Chinese woman, had explained to the blonde just how the general had "survived" his death. Knowing the truth, Quatre couldn't help feel sorry for the trapped soul.

"It doesn't bother me, I'll have you know," Treize said suddenly. Quatre stared at him. "Being stuck in this fake body. I had a choice. Move on, or stay behind to keep an eye on the peace."

"Oh…" was all Quatre could say. "I don't understand though. So both Wufei and Duo were… Magicians?"

"Actually," Mai said calmly, "Duo Maxwell was the last of the Alchemists, a group of… How do I describe them… They were a sort of Magical Preventors. They kept the peace between Light and Dark."

"You said the last. What happened to them?"

Mai's eyes became impossibly darker. "Vampires who didn't appreciate their interference killed them all in their little town of Belle Foreste. It seems Duo's mother managed to get him to a nearby family before she succumbed to her wounds. They adopted him and took him to L2, but they were killed in another of the colony's famed rebellions. He was never properly trained in his abilities so he never knew about them."

"What about Wufei?"

Treize laughed softly. "The Chang family is famous in the Magical world for their strong abilities. They also had a reputation for a fiery temper."

Mai glared at the ghost. "The Dragon clan was a powerful family. They were the judges of Light Magicians, punishing those who break the laws. Yue is already displaying the attitude for his family's duty."

"Then Yue and Alya are… Wufei's children."

"The twins are both Wufei's and Duo's. Alchemists had the ability to create life out of nothing. The sheer amount of energy needed to cause the momentary rift between worlds triggered Duo's innate ability, and the twins were created from Duo and Wufei's life energy."

Quatre paled at the thought of the loss of his friends. "So they're dead?" he whispered.

"No. Yuuko has already found them in another world. Wufei needs a little more medicine to keep Duo's bloodlust away, but other than that, they're both fine."

"Bloodlust?" Something the woman had already said came back. "You mean he's…." Quatre trailed off.

"A Vampire? Has been for about seven months. Wufei made a deal with Yuuko to become Duo's sole source of blood, and he takes pills to make sure he has enough blood to feed Duo once every week. Duo will start to feed less and less as time goes on. It turns out the prince of the Vampires was the one who changed him. Making him, and in turn his children, heirs to the Vampires. Dante has disowned Nikolai. Duo is, in effect, the prince of Darkness."

Quatre laughed slightly. Treize and Mai stared at him. "He always did call himself Shinigami."

"Death is not evil; it serves a purpose," a soft voice said from the door. The three adults turned to see Yue standing in the door. Unlike his sister, who looked more like Duo, Yue resembled Wufei. His hair was an almost black brown, and slim reading glasses framed his dark blue-violet eyes. Yue was taller than Alya by a couple of inches. He carried a large book under his small arm. "At least, that's what Truth said. It marks the end of a life, but it also allows another to be born. It's equivalent exchange; to gain something, something of equal value must be lost."

----------

Quatre walked outside into the fading sunlight. He had spent the entire day talking to the mismatched family about the missing pilots. He told the two children everything about their parents. Alya and Yue were wonderful listeners, absorbing knowledge at an alarming rate.

"I'll come by every once in a while to see how you are doing," Quatre said, knelling down next to the distraught Alya. "It's not like we'll never see each other again."

It didn't help. The little girl sobbed harder. "B-but… I…don't…. want…you…to…leave!"

"I promise I'll see you next week."

Mai took a step forward and lifted the little girl easily. "Don't worry about these two. I've already stationed Magicians to protect them. They'll be safe. Treize will also be here for them." Quatre nodded his understanding. "You should also take these visits to refine that ability of yours. You could find that it might come in handy one day."

Trowa pulled up in the car; Quatre had called him early. Treize quickly vanished from view. "I should get going."

"Bring some ice cream next time," Yue said calmly. "Then she wouldn't cry as much when you leave." Quatre stared at the little boy. Already Yue was much older than his 12-year-old body appeared.

"I don't cry too much!" Alya yelled at her twin brother.  
Yue huffed, a perfect imitation of Wufei's snort. "Of course you do." The twins began to bicker.

Quatre laughed softly. It was almost as if Duo and Wufei had never disappeared. He turned to the Chinese woman. "Can you tell me if there's any information about Duo and Wufei?"

"Of course," Mai said. "In return, you have to keep me informed about your abilities. You're more powerful than most, Quatre Winner. With training, you could have become one of the strongest in history. Now get going, Winner. Your friend is waiting." Somehow, the small woman managed to put a different meaning on the word _friend_; Quatre blushed furiously. He fled to the car, and Trowa drove off.

"Who were those two children?" Trowa asked after they had turned the corner. "And why did I think I saw Treize Kushrenada disappear when I pulled up?"

"You'd never believe me if I told you."

Trowa snorted. "Try me."

----------

Heero glared at the small blonde. He refused to believe what Quatre had just told them. Magic did **not **exist, and Treize Kushrenada could not be a ghost. Duo was not a vampire. This just couldn't happen. It just didn't make sense. "You're lying," he said bluntly.

Trowa frowned. "I believe you, Quatre."

"Thanks, Trowa." The blond teen smiled. "I'm going back to see Alya and Yue next weekend. You don't have to come with me, but you should meet those two. They're so much like Duo and Wufei."

Heero grunted, but said nothing.

----------

AC 198, November 22nd

Heero sat on the back porch as the two children, two teens, and one ghost played a game of hide-and-go-seek. Mai was standing under a tree, acting as a sort of referee. The Japanese pilot couldn't believe that Alya and Yue were Duo and Wufei's children. Admittedly, the twins looked and acted just like the missing pair, but they were also very different. Alya read most of the time, and Yue calmly kept informing the newcomers of random facts about the world.

"You seemed confused," a new voice whispered into Heero's ear. The former soldier spun around, swing a flat hand down, but the tall woman with long black hair caught his wrist easily. "Now, now. Calm down."

"Who are you?" he demanded.  
The woman smiled softly. "I have a lot of names, but you can call me Yuuko. I grant wishes."

"Bullshit."

"It's true. Though the wish you want granted would cost you far too much." She smiled again. "But I get the feeling that something else is bothering you."

Heero glanced back at the group. Alya was laughing at Quatre, who had chosen a bad spot to hide. The blonde grinned slightly at the twins. Yue was scanning the yard for Trowa and Treize. "Are they… Are they really Duo's children?"  
Yuuko looked over at the children. "What do you think?"

"I don't know what to think. I was taught that science was the only thing to believe in, but with all this talk about magic, I'm not so sure anymore."

"Just make a decision and go with it. You've fought enough; you don't have to join this war."

"I know that."

"Then, there's nothing I can do."

Heero looked at the ground. "Can Duo and Wufei come back?"

"To this world? Of course. To this time? It's all a matter of fate." Heero looked over at her. "I almost think it would be better for them to stay away from here."

"Why?"

"You have to remember that Duo is a Vampire, and Wufei has become his sole source of food. Neither of them will age from where they are now. They will have to watch the three of you and even their children grow old and eventually die."

"All things have to die."

"Of course, but Vampires can live a very, very long time. He'll be around when man lives on Mars and even beyond that. He'll watch countless more wars, see the best and worst of humanity." Heero looked away again. He refused to believe. "Just trust them to survive."

"Mr. Heero! Mr. Heero! Come and play with us!" Alya yelled, running up to the Japanese man. She grabbed his hand and pulled on it. Heero smiled and allowed her to pull him across the yard. He could afford to relax for once.

----------

Mai looked up when she felt the sudden, but subtle, rise in power. "Dante."

"Mai," the Vampire King said. Dante was the oldest of the Vampires, hundreds of years old, but he looked like he was in his mid-20s with short blond hair and piercing dark blue eyes. "How are the children doing?"

The Chinese Elder sighed. "They're… different. Wise beyond years but they can still be children. Their abilities haven't been tested."

"I never would have believed that an Alchemist survived the massacre at Belle Foreste. There was so much blood… It reeked."

"I remember, but I'm glad that one survived to create those twins, even though he didn't know any of the techniques. It's amazing…"

"I'm concerned about why your rogue son and that Magician performed that spell. Why go to another world?"

Dante sighed and frowned. "My son," he said the word with distaste, "believes that he should be a king himself, even though I will not die for another thousand or so years. I suspect he's trying to build himself an army. He doesn't realize how hard it is to keep control of the more violent Vampires. The fool is going to ruin that world, and if he finds a way back here, there will be war."

"I'll start gathering our forces. They'll be prepared for Nikolai and Erik's army."

"As will the Vampires. Any of Nikolai's spawn are a sin against our kind. Even those who speak out against me will agree with me. Nikolai will be sorely mistaken if he thinks that we will surrender quietly."

"We'll have to be careful. Most humans don't know that Magic exists. We could cause a mass panic if we wage all-out war. This cannot happen."

"The twins will be a prime targets if war breaks out."

"Magicians are already assigned to guard them. Seals, charms, and barriers have been set up. They're safe. For now. Nikolai won't be able to hurt them."

Yuuko appeared in the doorway. "I've told Mokona to stay with our two lost boys. I have a feeling that they'll need him eventually." The three left the house. "Treize will remain here to be the father figure in the family. Duo would have wanted his children to have a relatively normal childhood."

"Of course," Dante said. "Those two will lead the next generation of both Magicians and Vampires. It's almost as though this was planned."

The three supposed enemies went silent. Mai looked up at the night sky. "I'm sure this is fate. Finally this stupid war can come to an end."

Yuuko nodded. "But at what cost?"


	7. Eastern HQ

Disclaimer: Same as every other disclaimer in this fandom. Don't own Gundam Wing or FMA, so don't sue me!

Pairing(s): Ocx2, 5x2, 3x4

Warnings: AU, crossover, LEMON or LIME (I can't decide! rushes off with writer's block and nosebleed)

Chapter 6

The Other Side of the Gate: Eastern HQ

1913, June 22nd (AC 201, June 29th)

Nobody paid any attention to the two young men hopping off the train just arriving from the South. They wore plain, non-descript clothes, and their only luggage was the pair of small bags they carried.

"Goddammit!" Duo swore. He stretched, loud cracks echoing throughout the station. Wufei suppressed the urge to wince. "They need to make those seats more comfortable." Duo looked over at Wufei. "Ready to go?" Wufei nodded, and the two walked outside into the busy Eastern City streets. It was a twenty-minute walk to the Eastern HQ; they spent it preparing to meet with Colonel Mustang.

Finally the two arrived at the large base. The guards at the gate checked their IDs and allowed them through. Duo sighed when they got into the cool building. The East was too damn hot in the summer.

"Hey, you two!" The pair turned to see the speaker.

Duo lit up. "Maes! How's the daughter?"

Lieutenant colonel Maes Hughes immediately whipped out his wallet. Nearly three-dozen pictures of Elicia unfolded from the leather wallet. "She just learned how to ride her little tricycle! See?! Right here!" He shoved the picture at them.

Duo grinned. "I see. She's very cute." He grabbed Wufei's hand and took off down the hall. Hughes didn't even notice; he had already found another victim.

They only stopped when they reached Colonel Mustang's office. Wufei knocked softly. "Come in," Roy's voice, barely audible, slid through the wooden door. The two soldiers walked into the office.

----------

Roy watched Duo Maxwell and Chang Wufei move across the room. Duo Maxwell had become a State Alchemist almost three years ago while his companion joined Intelligence to serve under Hughes. Duo seemed to have a natural gift for stealth, and he was often sent to gather information on Amestris' enemies. The pair scanned the room silently. 'So young, and they've already got the stares of killers.'

"Hey, Roy. How's work been treating you? Riza take you out for target practice yet?"

'The same old routine…' Roy thought darkly. "Not yet, but I get the feeling she's about to. And I don't think I'll get a choice in the matter." It was the same answer Roy had given the young man the last time Duo had asked the question. 'The same old routine…' "You two are to head to the South. There's a rumor about strange blood-drinking humans down there." Duo's violet eyes widened. Roy knew then he had the strange braided State Alchemist. "Here are your tickets. You'll be leaving tomorrow night. I suggest you get some sleep. I hear these bloodsuckers work at night." Duo and Wufei stood up. "Oh, and Ed's here."

----------

The two former Gundam pilots left Roy's office and began walking down the hall to the apartments the military provided. Both of them were thinking of the upcoming mission. For three years, they've been hunting Eriks and Nikolai. The pair of Rogues was building an army of Vampires, but Duo and Wufei had joined the military of this world to prevent them from causing too much trouble.

"Well, if it isn't Maxwell and Chang."

The pair paused. "Ed, what the hell is your problem?" Duo said, turning to face the diminutive alchemist.

"I'd hoped you'd disappeared on your last mission. You two do that a lot."

Wufei frowned. "Be quiet, brat," he growled.

Edward glared at the slightly taller Chinese young man. "Why are you here anyway?"

"What the fuck do you think we're here for, you dumb little brat!" Duo snapped. "We were assigned here. Just like you were." He took a step towards Ed, unconsciously baring his fangs at him. Not many people in this world knew that Duo was a Vampire, and he intended to keep it that way.

Ed backed up a little bit in shock. He had heard about the bloodsuckers and their strange canines. If a State Alchemist was one, he was a threat to everyone around him. "Yeah, whatever," Ed said, waving off the Vampire. He walked away, muttering about stupid men with waist-length hair and violet eyes.

Duo snickered at the retreating back. "I win again…"

"I think he saw your fangs," Wufei said calmly. Duo froze. He'd never quite gotten over the fact that no one would accept him here because of Eriks and Nikolai' army-building, and the last thing he needed was another State Alchemist, a trained one no less, hunting him down. "We'll have to keep an eye on him. You need to eat soon."

Duo shrugged.

----------

Wufei watched Duo close the bedroom door. In over two years since becoming a Vampire, the braided pilot had refined his eating to an art. He walked across the floor and pressed himself up against Wufei's bare chest. He stretched up to lick Wufei's neck. Wufei shivered. Already the Vampire's touch was causing the familiar, almost addictive euphoria to rush through the Chinese Magician. He barely noticed Duo slide sharp fangs across his artery.

Suddenly, Wufei grabbed the lithe Vampire, earning himself an "Eep!" and lifted Duo up. He dropped Duo on the bed. Pinning him to the soft mattress, Wufei leaned down and kissed Duo on the lips.

Duo gasped in delight when Wufei practically tore their uniforms off in his haste to get naked and nearly screamed when Wufei began his long, slow, lovely torture…

-----(A/N: Damn. No sex… DX)-----

Duo wandered into the officers' kitchen. It was dark, but even without the added benefit of being a Vampire, he could see perfectly. He walked over to the refrigerator and quickly picked out a bottle of water. He froze when he saw Edward Elric standing in the doorway, preventing his escape. He tried to force down the panic he felt and look completely at ease. He wasn't completely sure it worked. "Can I help you, Ed?"

Ed frowned at the other alchemist. "I know your secret, monster."

Duo's heart stopped beating. He thought Ed hadn't seen his fangs, but he was wrong. The hostility the blond alchemist held for him reminded Duo of the OZ and Alliance soldiers. "What do you mean?" he said innocently.

Ed took a step forward. Duo retreated slightly, placing the bottle of water down on a table. He fingered the band around his wrist. In that respect, he was equal to Ed; he didn't need to waste time drawing transmutation circles. He had the experience over Ed, and he wasn't afraid to use dirty tricks to win. "I saw your teeth. You're a bloodsucker just like the ones causing trouble right now."

"I'm not like them," Duo said calmly.

Ed smirked. "So you admit it. You're a monster." He took another step forward.

Duo flinched slightly from the venomous words. Wufei had always made sure to protect him from the hatred associated with his condition. Now he had to fight on his own. He decided to use the one weapon at his disposal. "I am not a monster. Look at you, Edward Elric. You have a metal arm and leg, and your brother is just a soul encased in a suit of armor. Destroy that armor, and your brother ceases to exist."

Ed growled angrily. "Don't insult my brother!" he yelled.

"What? Don't like that? You're just a little kid pretending to be an adult. How many people have you killed, Edward Elric? How much blood do you have on your hands?"

Now Ed was the one to flinch. "I didn't join this organization to kill people."

"You're an idealist, Edward Elric. This is an army. You fight wars; you kill people. That's what you do in an army!"

"Don't talk to me like you know what it's like!" Ed snapped. His explosive temper was nearing the breaking point. "Do you know what it's like to watch your mother die holding your hand?!"

Duo dashed forward, impossibly fast. He grabbed both of Ed's wrists in different hands and slammed him up against the doorframe. "Do you know what it's like to know you caused the only woman to treat you like your mother to die?" he asked simply. Ed stared up into violet eyes. He could see the haunted look in those depths, a look that a 20-year-old man should not have. 'What has he seen?' Ed thought. 'What has he done to get that look?' Duo growled suddenly. "You really don't, do you? I held her as she forgave the ones who attacked the church and thanked God I was alive, that I was away from the church when it was destroyed. Father Maxwell was a peaceful man, but he died because rebels took over the church. Over 200 men, women, and children, innocents, died. Now tell me, Edward Elric. Do you know what it's like to feel true loss?"

Duo released the younger alchemist, and Ed slid to the ground. He was dimly aware of the bottle of water floating by overhead. He had heard about the braided young man's ability to use air itself to fight. "Would I have been able to beat him if we fought?" Ed asked the empty room. Of course, it didn't answer back.

----------

Duo sat down on the uncomfortable seat, sighing. One of these days, he was going to invent the world's most comfortable train seat cushion. Hell, even his pilot's chair was more comfortable to sit in. He lay down and tried to get some sleep before the train started moving. They had the entire car to themselves.

Wufei sat down in the seat facing Duo's. "Elric did not seem happy to see you this morning," he said simply. Duo cracked open one eye and looked at him. "What did you do, Duo?"

Duo sighed again. "He and I just had a small disagreement in our views of the army."

"Duo. Nothing is ever 'small' with you. Now I'll ask again. What did you do to him?"

"It's really nothing, 'Fei." The boy grinned and fell silent, looking out the cabin's window as it pulled out of the station, but Wufei could still feel the threat behind the smile. He decided to wait for another time.

----------

The small town of Deluge Valley was named after the abnormally high amounts of rain the region got throughout the year. The houses were built on platforms to keep them above the flood zones. It also kept the residents relatively isolated. It was the perfect place for a Vampire to take over.

Duo and Wufei walked on the large walkways leading from house to house. The rain beat down on them mercilessly, and they were surrounded by fast floodwaters. Other than the gentle sound of the falling rain hitting the water around them, the village was quiet. Too quiet. The pair of experienced fighters remained cautious.

"You should not be here, government dog," a nasally voice whispered from behind them. The two spun. Wufei's fire magic was useless in this wet atmosphere, but the Magician was skilled in more than just flames. The Vampire screamed in terror as plants sprouted out of the wooden planks and wrapped around his body. "Hey! What is this?! This ain't alchemy!"

"We need information, and you're going to give it to us," Wufei said coldly, ignoring the Vampire's frantic crying. He felt weak; any type of magic was harder to perform in this world and required more energy. Attracted by the noise, more Vampires were starting to emerge from the houses. Wufei ignored them; Duo was a trained soldier after all. Duo would back him up as he got the information needed. "Who is the one responsible for this?"

The Vampire looked defiant until Wufei tightened the vines. He screamed in pain. The other Vampires looked at each other warily. "He said his name was Nikolai! No last name! Just Nikolai!" Wufei loosened the plants. The Vampire sagged in his bonds.

"Where is he?"

"Eastern HQ. He went to the Eastern HQ."

Both Duo and Wufei froze, and the Vampires immediately lunged at them. Duo ducked under a pair of Vampires, who crashed into each other, as Wufei drew his firearm from his shoulder holster. When he started to have trouble performing his magic, he had begun to seal magic into bullets. Duo generously offered to use the magic he had stored from feeding on the Chinese Magician for the bullets.

Wufei fired off rounds of Light energy into a trio of Vampires, and they immediately dissolved. "Low-ranking Vampires from a prince?" Wufei asked Duo almost absent-mindedly. They knew that Nikolai, the one who had changed Duo, was the biological son of King Dante, and that Duo was considered an elite in the Vampire hierarchy because of the man's rank. But for such weak Vampires to come from the Vampire prince meant that… It was not Nikolai but one of his own changed victims that changed the villagers. "We have to take care of this now, Duo," Wufei called out to his friend. Duo nodded. His bracelet glowed softly, and Wufei felt his hair being pulled by the wind collecting near the braided young man. The Vampires had only enough time to glance at each other before the wind lashed out, cutting them down where they stood. As each of the unholy creatures died, their bodies disintegrated into dust, which mixed with the falling rain to make mud and be washed away. The two soldiers came together once all of the Vampires were dead.

"We have to get back there, Wufei," Duo whispered.

Wufei nodded silently. "I'm going to make a call first. If Nikolai's going to attack Eastern HQ, Colonel Mustang will need to know about it and prepare." He went into what looked like the bank of the town, Duo close behind. Immediately, the stench of old blood and rotting flesh assaulted their senses. Bodies laid everywhere. Some had their throats ripped out by the Vampires, and some had broken necks. A few had killed themselves in the corner, surrounded by dead children. The bank was probably the last stand for the unchanged humans in the village. Wufei glowered at the carnage; Duo quickly fled the building, the bloodlust rising in his mind.

The telephone was sitting on the lone cashier's counter, almost untouched by the violence that had occurred there. Stepping over the young woman with a hole in her chest lying near the phone, Wufei picked it up and dialed the Eastern HQ's phone number. "This is Major Chang Wufei calling from Deluge Valley. I need to speak with Colonel Mustang right away."


	8. Flames in the East

Disclaimer: I don't own GW or FMA, so don't sue me.

Warnings: Past NCS, OOC, AU, crossover, violence, language (happily slaps warning after warning on)

Pairings: 5x2, 3x4, (No one for Heero yet. DX If anything, it would be 1+(3x4) Does that even make sense? Heero likes both Quatre and Trowa. Probably.)

Chapter 7

Flames in the East

1913, June 24th (AC 201, July 1st)

The city was quiet as Duo and Wufei slipped through the empty streets. Spotting a few dead soldiers and some piles of ash in the moonlight, the pair was afraid they were too late to be of any assistance. Already they had killed nearly a dozen Vampires wandering the city streets, looking for victims.

"How do you think Nikolai's controlling them?" Duo asked, glancing over at his lover.

Wufei remained silent as another pair of Vampires jumped out from around the corner. He had long since run out of the magic bullets, so he summoned up a burst of fire and drove it into the first Vampire's chest. As he watched the young man die, Wufei was barely aware of Duo tearing out the throat of the other Vampire. The woman drowned in her own blood before Duo set fire to the thrashing body. They left the area before the orange glow of the fire could attract more Vampires.

"I've heard of a spell that could control the undead, but it takes so much energy to perform for even a short amount of time, most Magicians don't use it. Erik, however, is more than powerful enough to use it on multiple targets."

"What are the after effects? For the Vampire, I mean," Duo said suddenly.

Wufei sighed. "It leaves the victim exhausted, and they can't remember what happened during the time they were under the spell." Wufei had stopped calling all Vampires monsters when referring to them. Throughout his life, he had met Vampires like Duo, innocent people forced into the position they were in. In fact, some Magicians could be called monsters in the barbaric ways they treated the Vampires. Duo was suspiciously quiet. Wufei looked over at him. His violet eyes were unfocused as they unconsciously scanned the streets for more Vampires. "What are you thinking about?" Wufei said softly, gently prodding Duo out of his thoughts.

The braided Vampire smiled at him. "Just thinking about what everyone's doing right now. Back home, I mean." Duo dropped his gaze. "We're fighting a war here, and who knows what they're doing. Quatre's probably overworking himself again, and Trowa's shadowing him everywhere. Heero's probably killed or scared off half of Quatre's employees with his glare." He laughed.

The laughter was abruptly cut off when they found the Eastern HQ. The walls had been alchemized into gigantic fortress-like barricades. There was no door to the interior of the base. "Dammit," Duo whispered. Wufei nodded his agreement. With no door to get into the base, the two of them were left to try to survive in the Vampire-infested city. That was not something Wufei wanted to attempt right now. "What are we going to do now, 'Fei?"

Wufei sighed. "We'll just have to find a safe spot for the night and try to survive," he said calmly, despite the fact he knew there was little chance of them seeing the sunrise in the morning. "Come on. We should get going. No doubt there're Vampires nearby." He turned away from the supposed safe haven. He found himself face to face with nearly three dozen Vampires.

"Shit," he heard Duo mutter. They were way outmatched; they were about to be killed in a horribly gruesome fashion.

Needless to say, they were surprised when two stone spikes drove themselves into the nearest Vampires. The other Vampires froze, and Duo and Wufei spun around to see where the spikes had come from. Duo groaned softly. "Duo Maxwell! What a pleasure it is to see you alive!" Armstrong yelled in his deep, aristocratic voice. He motioned for several soldiers to move forward, rifles at the ready. Nearly a dozen more Vampires fell to their bullets. "Come with us, Major Maxwell! We'll hold them off."

The soldiers escorted the two travelers into the high walls of the base. Wufei noticed the walkways at the top of the walls, preventing Vampires from scaling the barriers. Tents were set up throughout the base's expansive grounds; the surviving population of East City was inside the walls of the base. Soldiers helped the civilians set up their tents and locate loved ones. The pair was impressed with Roy's ability to keep the peace during the attack.

They walked into the main building of the military base. Duo could hear people making frantic calls to Central in the telephone room, and Wufei narrowly avoided three soldiers carrying supplies outside. "Where's Colonel Mustang?" Duo asked a passing clerk.

She stopped shortly and turned to the alchemist. "He's in his office," she said tiredly. "Major Elric is in there as well, though, and I heard them arguing."

"Thank you," Wufei said quickly, and the clerk nodded before rushing off. The two soldiers walked up the stairs towards Roy's office.

As they approached the office, Duo and Wufei could hear the fore-mentioned argument continue. "Mustang! That man is a threat! I saw his teeth! They're exactly like the bloodsuckers'!" Edward yelled angrily. Duo flinched at the harsh words. His argument with the blonde came back to him in stark detail.

"Ed, has he ever once acted like them? Do you know of any occasion where he attacked normal people?" Roy said calmly, although the exhaustion was clear in his voice. "I haven't heard any incident concerning Maxwell or Chang, so for all I care, he could be a bloodsucker, but he's still human."

The young teen gave an angry cry and stomped to the door. Slamming it open, he came face-to-face with the targets of his rage. "Monster," he growled at Duo.

Ignoring the voice in his head that said it was a bad idea, Wufei grabbed Edward by the shoulders and threw him up against the wall. Fear flickered through amber eyes as Ed gasped in pain. Wufei mentally acknowledged several soldiers stopping to stare. "Duo is not a monster. He went through a lot of hell, and a little brat," renewed anger gripped Ed at the insult, "will not judge him. Do you understand?" Ed glared at him. Wufei shook him violently. "I said. Do. You. Understand?" Each word was accented by a forceful shake. Ed jerked a nod, and Wufei threw him down the hall. "Get out of my sight. Now." Ed pushed himself to his feet and retreated down the hall, pushing past some of the onlookers. Wufei turned back to Duo. The braided young man stared at the floor. Wufei felt ashamed that he had embarrassed his friend.

"Chang. Maxwell," Roy said stiffly. He had witnessed the entire confrontation from behind his desk. "Get in here now, and close the door." The two soldiers quickly walked into the room. Hearing the door click softly, Roy sighed. "Maxwell, Ed has a good argument. If you're a bloodsucker, that could pose a lot of problems for all of us. The stress is at an all-time high, and finding out there is a bloodsucker, the enemy, in our midst, people won't hesitate to kill you." Duo nodded slightly. "I want you to stay here in the building. I'll assign you tasks, but I don't want you anywhere near Ed. He's furious, Maxwell, and I don't know what he'll do to you if he ambushes you." The young colonel turned to Wufei. "Chang, you're going to help the soldiers fight these things. You both have experience fighting against them, and that's what we need right now." He looked down at the papers thrown across his desk. "You may leave," he said simply. As Duo turned to follow Wufei out the door, Roy looked up. "Maxwell. I want to talk to you."

Duo glanced over at Wufei, who nodded, before he stayed behind. "What do you need, Colonel?" he tried to say as calmly as possibly. He was hesitant to remain alone here during the battle; friends often turned against each other for seemingly no reason. He was not about to take that chance, being one of the same things that were attacking the city.

"Maxwell, I'm taking a risk with keeping you out of the brig. I know you won't do anything against us. I've already made arrangements for you and Chang to stay in the room attached to the Records. It's isolated, and people tend to avoid it if they can."

Duo smirked slightly. "Speaking from experience, sir?"

Roy laughed slightly, and then dismissed the young man. "Get out of here, brat." Duo laughed the entire way to Records.

----------

Wufei heard the explosion and the wall crumble before the screaming started. He ran towards the battlefield. The Vampires had used alchemy and explosives to destroy the wall, and they were quickly massacring the ill-prepared guards near the breach. Wufei summoned up a sudden wind to cut the first wave down. He stood surrounded by the dead and dying. Many of the soldiers that had survived the initial attack were either mortally wounded or bitten, so they were as good as dead.

Another wave of Vampires stormed in, and Wufei glimpsed Nikolai and Erik run in after them. A group of soldiers fired into the crowd of Vampires. "Take care of them! I'm going after the other two!" The soldiers nodded, continuing to gun down more Vampires.

Wufei ran after the two masterminds through the halls of the Eastern Headquarters. Ed barely avoided a spark of lightning aimed at his head as he emerged from Roy's office. "What's going on?!" he yelled at Wufei who simply ran past. Ed motioned to Roy, and the two alchemists raced after the three people.

Wufei recognized where they were heading. The third story of the building was designated for the extensive Records department. It was avoided by most of the personnel of the base for various reasons, so it was deserted most of the time.

It also meant Duo was alone. While he was a competent fighter, the two were far more powerful than he was, and he could be killed. Wufei couldn't take that chance. As the group approached the stairs, Wufei launched a large burst of fire, which nearly exhausted his energy reserves, at the pair of traitors. It caught Erik in the back. The Magician quickly put the flames out, but his back was severely burned. Wufei wondered why the master Magician used such a weak spell to simply stop the fire but not heal the wound. He began to slow down, weakened by his injury. Wufei knew that Nikolai would not hesitate to leave a wounded human behind, no matter how useful the man was before.

Bursting into the records room, Wufei was surprised to see Duo standing in the middle of the large room. The shelves were pushed away from the center, leaving space to draw a large circle.

The blank look in Duo's usually lively eyes and ring of red light peeking out from under his uniform collar signaled that something was wrong with the Vampire. His mind raced back to the conversation they had only 13 hours earlier. 'Could it be…?' It certainly explained Erik's conservation of energy. If he were using the spell a lot, he would want to save a lot of his energy. "This… This was your plan all along?!" he yelled at the two rivals. "Waiting until he stored up enough energy to force that damn Gate open again?!"

Nikolai turned towards them, smirking. "Of course," he said confidently. He grabbed the younger Vampire and pulled his limp body to him. "The Magician," he sneered at the wounded human near him, "thought that two years of feeding on you would give him enough energy to open the Gate of Truth long enough for us to get through." Nikolai pushed Duo into the circle. It began glowing softly as Duo curled up slightly. The man frowned at the weak light. "Not enough!" he yelled angrily. He grabbed Erik and threw him in there as well. The light flared up exponentially.

"What are you doing?!" Erik cried weakly. He pushed himself up until he stood, shaking with fatigue.

Nikolai frowned. "I have no need for a weak human."

"You swore to me that we were partners!"

Nikolai ignored the man. "You're the fool who made a deal with a Vampire, human." He laughed. Erik slid to the ground, too weak to move anymore.

As the Vampire laughed, Wufei rushed forward. He knew that trying to take on a Vampire like this was near suicide, but if he could get Duo away from them, he would gladly give up his life. What he didn't expect was Roy and Ed joining the fight.

Sparks leapt pass his head, heading straight for the Vampire. Nikolai yelped in pain as his arm burned. Water condensed around the flames, putting them out. "I'll get you for that, human," he growled at Roy. The Flame Colonel smirked back.

Wufei rushed past the Vampire and grabbed Duo's arm. Now that the spell was wearing off, Duo was quickly returning to normal. He was exhausted, but he tried to help Wufei pull him from the circle. Wufei knew that Duo would probably die if he couldn't get him out in time.

Nikolai noticed what was going on behind him. He turned towards the two soldiers. "I won't let you ruin my chance to get back to my birthright!" He summoned a long, thin blade.  
Time seemed to slow for Wufei as he turned to face his attacker. He could feel Duo trying to push him out of the way of the sword coming down on him, and he could see Roy and Ed running forward in an attack of their own on the evil Vampire.

The blade easily cut through uniform and skin, and Wufei fell into darkness.


	9. Blood Rage

Disclaimer: I don't own GW or FMA, so don't sue me.

Warnings: Past NCS, OOC, AU, crossover, violence, language (happily slaps warning after warning on)

Pairings: 5x2, 3x4, (No one for Heero yet. DX If anything, it would be 1 (3x4) Does that even make sense? Heero likes both Quatre and Trowa. Probably.)

Author's Notes: Just so some people know, the reason Ed's a little OOC is because I changed just about everything in FMA. There are no homunculi, and Ed's extremely protective of Al.

This is also the longest chapter I've written so far. I'm sorry it's taken so long to write. I hit writer's block so many times in this chapter.

Chapter 8

Blood Rage

1913, June 29th (AC 201, July 6th)

Wufei woke up slowly. His entire body ached, and his chest wound was a sharp agony in the front of his mind. He felt weak, a classic sign of blood loss. For a Magician especially, losing so much blood left them defenseless against an attack, but Wufei felt confident that he would be allowed to rest in peace for once.

The Chinese soldier looked around the room, and his eyes locked on the sleeping figure next to the bed. He smiled slightly and reached over to run his fingers through the soft chestnut locks. It felt slightly dirty and strangely knotted. He frowned. Duo kept very good care of his hair; only a very serious situation would distract him away from its care.

The look disappeared as the slender Vampire began to stir. His violet eyes blinked open, and he sat up, a look like a child's in his eyes. Recognition and relief flashed through the beautiful indigo eyes when he saw Wufei awake and sitting up. "'Fei!" Duo shouted, nearly throwing himself at his friend. Wufei grunted and moved to avoid being hit in his wounded side. "How ya feeling?" Duo asked. Wufei didn't think that Duo knew he was slipping into his natural L2 accent and style of speaking. The braided young man looked too happy to care.

Wufei shrugged. "Fine, I guess." His eyes scanned the slender Vampire. Duo was paler than normal, and he was showing signs of starvation. "What about you? Have you been eating like you should?"

Duo grinned. "Yep. I'm good."

"That's good to know."

The two continued talking until Roy came in to collect his missing soldier. Duo waved good-bye and followed the Flame Colonel down the hall. Wufei sighed, settled into his nest of pillows, and soon fell asleep.

----------

The woman ran through the dark streets of the city. She could hear the Vampire chasing after her, his footsteps nearly silent in the nearly quiet night.

The footsteps were closer as she ran down 17th Street.

The Vampire was nearly on her when she turned into the alley.

It was panting into her ear when she ran into the dead end.

She screamed as fangs bit down on her vulnerable neck, and she felt blood running across her skin. Then an incredibly blissful feeling, an intense euphoria, swept through her, and she happily fell into the darkness of unconsciousness.

----------

Wufei gasped awake. Something _dark_ had brushed over his weakened senses. He waited for any more waves, but none came. He looked out the window at the nearly full moon. It glowed down on the city almost ominously. He shook off the nagging feeling he had that something was wrong and fell back to sleep.

----------

Wufei listened through the bathroom door as Duo retched into the toilet. He was worried about the Vampire. Wufei had heard of Vampires getting sick, but the diseases were usually light, nothing capable of inducing fits of vomiting.

Roy sat down next to the bed. The Flame Colonel glanced over at the closed door. "What's wrong with him?" he asked the wounded soldier.

Wufei shrugged, sighing. "I don't know. I've never heard of Vampires behaving this way," he said, turning towards Roy. "What happened after I was hit?"

Roy was silent for a moment. "Maxwell… went insane. That's all that could be said about it. He activated the transmutation circle, which is exactly what those men wanted. The wounded man, Erik I believe you said his name was, tried to attack Maxwell, but he broke both legs and several ribs. We've got him in a secured room; the doctors don't think that he'll ever walk again. After that, Nikolai tried to escape through the Gate. Maxwell ripped one arm completely off. The man got through the Gate, and it seems most of the bloodsuckers disappeared about the same time. Then Maxwell collapsed. We brought both of you here to the hospital. You were taken into surgery, and Maxwell was treated for exhaustion."

"Has he been eating?"  
Roy's eyebrows rose. "Eating? I don't know. I've been busy trying to clean up the mess those bloodsuckers left me. The nurses say that he hasn't left this room to do more than personal hygiene and clean clothes. He's even slept in here."

"Shit," Wufei said softly. "See if you can get him some blood. He's exhausted, and he's burning through his reserves. Vampires, or bloodsuckers, need blood like we need food. He's starving, sir. I would give him my own blood normally, but I doubt I'm in any condition to do so."

Roy paled at the nonchalant way Wufei said that, but he nodded. "I'll see what I can do. Several civilians were injured during the attack, and we're running low on blood."

Wufei frowned. "That's not good."

The sounds coming from the bathroom died abruptly. Then the two soldiers heard Duo push himself up, flush the toilet, and turn on the faucet. He washed himself off, getting rid of the stench of vomit. Then he collapsed; the lack of nutrition was too much for him.

Roy got up from his seat. "I'll go get him." The colonel stood up from his seat. He walked into the bathroom, and he emerged a few minutes later with Duo in a fireman's carry. He put the unconscious Vampire on the other bed in the room and pushed it into Wufei's reach. "I'll leave you two alone."

With that, Roy left the room. Wufei reached over to hold Duo's limp hand. It was thin, almost skeletal, in his grip. "What's wrong with you, Duo?" he asked the sleeping young man. Silence followed him into unconsciousness.

----------

Ed knelt down next to the woman's body. Her arms were folded over her chest, like in a funeral, and she was fully clothed. She looked like she was sleeping, if one could ignore the bloody puncture wounds in her neck and the fact that she was in the middle of the dark alley. "A bloodsucker," he muttered to himself.

"Excuse me, sir?" Ed looked at the soldier. Central had sent reinforcements to the Eastern Headquarters after the battle, so none of the new soldiers knew anything about the bloodsuckers. "Did you say bloodsucker?"

Ed nodded. "A bloodsucker did this. He drained all of the blood from here," he pointed to the wounds on the neck, "but I don't understand why he posed the body like this…"

The new soldier shifted nervously. "Perhaps he felt guilty?"

Ed frowned. "Bloodsuckers don't feel guilt. Don't you know that monsters don't have feelings?"

----------

Wufei woke up when Duo stirred. The braided young man shifted slightly on the other bed before violet eyes flickered open. They settled on Wufei. "…'Fei? Where am I? What am I doing here?" Duo whispered, sounding exhausted.

Concern raced through Wufei's mind. Vampires did not forget anything, unless they were affected by magic. He wouldn't use magic on Duo, so if made him wonder if the still relatively young Vampire was still under Erik's influence.

"You fell asleep. Roy told me you've been working hard. How are you feeling?" It hurt to lie to Duo, but Wufei felt it was necessary.

Duo closed his eyes, and for a second, Wufei thought he'd fallen back asleep. Then Duo sighed. His breath brushed against Wufei's bare chest. "Tired. A little hungry."

"I asked Roy to get you some blood. Until then, get some sleep."

"Um… Alright…"

The two curled up and fell back to sleep.

----------

Roy froze when Ed finished his report on the body found earlier in the morning. "What did you say?" he demanded.

Ed glared at his commander. "A bloodsucker, Roy. One of those bastards is alive. Or rather, you let him live as one of us!"

Roy's temper erupted. "What the hell is wrong with you, Ed? Something happened between you and Maxwell last week, and now all you think about is getting revenge on him! I won't have you making any baseless accusations against another State Alchemist! Especially so soon after the battle with Erik and Nikolai! Now get out of my office, and don't talk about this again!"

The two continued glaring at each other for three more minutes before Ed turned and stormed out of the office. Roy sighed and put his head in his hands. He prayed to all the gods he could think of that Duo was not the one responsible for the murder.

----------

1913, July 2nd (AC 198, July 9th)

Wufei climbed out of bed cautiously. Roy offered encouragements, and 10 minutes with Erik, from behind the wheelchair. Wufei stood on unsteady legs and walking the two feet to the chair, gently lowered himself into the seat. He refrained from dropping into the chair only because it could tear the stitches in his stomach. "I used to think showing weakness was unmanly," Wufei said suddenly.

"Oh?" Roy said as he pushed the Chinese young man out the door. "What changed that?"

"Duo."

Roy simply smiled. Unlike Ed, he wasn't a homophobe, so as long as the two strangers weren't obvious in their affections to each other, he didn't mind. "Just no sex in the cafeteria," Roy whispered into Wufei's ear.

To Roy's surprise, Wufei turned to him. "Damn," he whispered back, a grin on his face. "Now you tell us that?"

Roy ran through the halls, more willing to put up with the shame of being caught racing through the halls rather than listen to the jokes of his blushing. He didn't know that people were already talking.

----------

Erik looked up as the two soldiers burst through the door. "What do you want?" he demanded as regally as he could manage.

Wufei stiffened in his chair. "I want to know if you're still controlling Duo."

Erik laughed. He couldn't help it. The looks on the soldiers' faces only urged him on. It took a few minutes for his laughter to die down enough to talk. "I lost control the second you were hit. That boy… is not normal… I've never heard about a Vampire who was able to break free of that spell." Erik sighed. "Realize I never meant to hurt him. I thought he would just open the Gate, and we would go back. I didn't think that Nikolai would try to hurt either of you."

"Why did you join Nikolai in the first place?" Roy asked.

Erik lay back against the pillows. "Perhaps I was interested in the charismatic young man I met nearly forty years ago. He wasn't the same man as he is now."

"Thank you for telling me the truth," Wufei said softly. "What will you do now?"

Erik shrugged. "Perhaps I'll see if I can go to a new world. Work to make life better there."

Wufei allowed his eyes to soften. The man wasn't evil, just misled by a friendship gone wrong. "I think you can."

----------

1913, July 9th (AC 201, July 16th)

Wufei walked into the darkened bedroom. Duo was already in bed, mostly asleep. The Vampire was exhausted, recovering from the incident nearly two weeks ago, but he wasn't starving anymore. Roy had managed to convince the hospital to give him a supply of relatively fresh blood for the Vampire. Wufei was relieved. Even though he wasn't completely at full health, he could feed Duo if he had to.

He was worried about the rumors surrounding the recent string of murders circulating around the base. If there was another Vampire in the city, Duo was particularly vulnerable during this time. The blood lacked the energy needed to perform magic.

He lid under the covers. Duo sighed, curling around Wufei's waist, and fell asleep. Wufei brushed the bangs off of the pale face. "We're going home tomorrow, Duo. We're finally going home."

----------

"….'Fei. 'Fei, wake up."

Wufei gasped awake, horrified from the nightmare that had gripped him in his sleep. The conservatives were taking Duo away from him for execution and Wufei was helpless to stop them. He had woke up just as the axe fell on his friend's neck.

Black eyes peered up at the white creature on his chest. "…Mokona?" The magical creature had started living with them about a week after they arrived in this world. It looked worried, but it didn't say anything else.

He reached over to touch Duo, to make sure the braided Vampire was still there, but his hand fell on empty sheets. He jerked into a sitting position. 'Duo?! Where's Duo?!' his mind screamed at him. He jumped out of bed.

His instincts registered the fact that the window was open, the warm summer wind blowing in. The Chinese man swore violently and rushed to the telephone. He waited until the other answered the phone. "Roy?"

The colonel grumbled into the receiver. "What is it, Chang? It's three in the morning."

"Duo's disappeared!"

Roy went silent. "What do you mean he disappeared?" he said, his voice dangerously quiet.

Wufei paced the area near the window. "I mean he's gone, and the window's open. Something's wrong with him, sir. He's been exhausted, even though he's been drinking blood. It's not normal."

"I'll get Ed, and we'll meet you outside your apartment in five minutes." Just before Roy hung up, Wufei heard him say, "I hope he's not the one we're looking for…"

Wufei threw his clothes on, not caring about his appearance. He grabbed his gun and Duo's knives and ran out to meet Roy and Ed, Mokona on his shoulder.

----------

The first sign that something was wrong was the purse lying in the middle of the sidewalk. The three soldiers got out of the car and rushed to the purse. Wufei knelt down next to it and began drawing a strange circle. "What are you doing?" Ed asked irritably. He did not want to be out at three in the morning looking for the missing Vampire.

"I'm going to cast a spell to find the woman this belonged to. I get the feeling that Duo's nearby." He completed the circle and pressed his hands against it. It glowed softly before a small Oriental dragon emerged from the light. It twisted slightly, getting used to the foreign environment, and took off down the street. The soldiers raced after it. None of them noticed Mokona bouncing after them.

----------

They found Duo cornering his target in a dead end alleyway. Roy and Ed froze, but Wufei ran half the distance to the Vampire. "Duo! Stop this!" he yelled at the braided young man.

Duo turned away from the terrified woman. His eyes had adopted the red cat irises of the blood starved Vampire. Wufei realized that Duo was not thinking normally. Once Vampires reached this state, they were driven only by the bloodlust.

Thinking quickly, Wufei pulled out a knife and waved it to catch Duo's attention. The red eyes tracked it, even in the dim light. Wufei knew that Ed and Roy were behind him, unsure of what he was doing. He lowered the knife to his wrist and gently slid its sharp edge along a small vein. Blood dribbled down his arm. Duo took a couple cautious steps forward. The woman dashed past them. Duo ignored her. Roy and Ed had their guns out, ready to blow Duo away at the first chance.

For the two former pilots, the world had narrowed downed to just the two of them. Wufei was vaguely reminded of when Duo had first drank his blood. "Bite gently, and only enough to satisfy your hunger," he whispered, knowing Duo would hear him.

Duo bit down on Wufei's arm, and Wufei couldn't help but wince as the sharp fangs broke the skin. Duo lapped eagerly at the crimson liquid. Wufei fell into the familiar euphoric high.

All too soon, the high ended, and Wufei realized that Duo had collapsed against him. He lowered the unconscious Vampire to the ground. Roy and Ed walked over to them. "What just happened?" Ed asked quietly, shocked by the recent events.

"It's the Vampire's bloodlust," a woman's voice said behind the group. They turned to look at Mokona. It was projecting Yuuko's image from the bead on its head. "He's not at fault for any of his actions."

"What do you mean?!" Ed snapped. "He's killed seven women and almost killed another!"

Yuuko turned to the diminutive alchemist. "Have you ever starved before, Edward Elric?" she asked him coldly.

Ed frowned. He knew that he had never met this woman; yet she knew his name. "I've had to fend for myself and my brother's sake for a month."

Yuuko's dead eyes did not change. "Then you know that after a while, you will do anything to relieve that empty feeling. Imagine what it would be like to be able to eat one thing, and only your loved one can supply it and keep you alive. Imagine that your friend could not feed you, and you had to find something to help you through the pain. That's what Duo's had to go through. He can't drink any other human's blood except for Wufei's. That was the deal we made." Ed remained silent; he was beginning to understand what it must have been like for the braided Vampire. Less than a week after Ed and Al had been abandoned on that island, they had resorted to eating whatever they could catch. The brothers had survived off of a large variety of animals and plants.

Ed lowered his eyes. Humans could eat a wide assortment of foods, but blood-suckers could only eat just what their name said, blood. If this woman and Chang had made a deal like the woman said, Duo would have known that Chang could not feed him. He had been starving for nearly two weeks. "So you do understand," the woman whispered.

At that moment, Duo stirred. His face was already regaining the customary hint of color, and his eyes lacked the red taint of bloodlust. They drifted lazily from Ed to Roy to Yuuko to Mokona before they landed on Wufei's face. "…Fei?" His voice was soft, almost as if he was waking up from a long rest.

Wufei looked down, and a serene expression settled on the stern Chinese face. "How are you feeling, Duo?" he asked.

"Better."

"Good," Yuuko interrupted. "You both are needed back here. Nikolai's already on the move." Wufei and Duo nodded. Yuuko turned to the two alchemists. "We could use your help as well, Colonel Mustang and Major Elric."

"If you're fighting bloodsuckers, I'm ready," Edward said almost eagerly. He wanted revenge against the bloodsuckers for the losses that the alchemists had suffered in the battle almost two weeks ago. Roy nodded his agreement.

"You'll have to pay a price to cross into this world. Are you prepared to do that?" Again Roy and Ed agreed. "Very well. Neither of you can tell anyone about this world, not even your closest friends. You cannot whisper it to a empty room or even write it down. You will have to live the rest of your lives with the experiences you gain from the other world. If you break this deal, your dreams will be gone forever."

Roy answered for both of them. "If that is the price we need to pay to take down the bastard who killed my men, then I'll gladly pay it." Ed remained firm next to the colonel.

Yuuko looked between them. "Very well. Mokona. Let's get these two back here."

The woman's image disappeared. The small white creature jumped up into the air. Large wings grew out of its back as a strange magic circle etched itself into the ground. Mokona opened its mouth. The four soldiers felt themselves being pulled towards the creature.

And then, Mokona swallowed them.


End file.
